WCOM NEWS

5-21-04

Miramar center plays host to events on race unit, helping seniors

MIRAMAR--Inside and out, the Sunset Lakes Community Center will be a hub of activity on Saturday.

Two unrelated new events -- one to promote race unity, the other to provide information for seniors and their caregivers -- are scheduled at the center, 2801 SW 186th Ave. Both are free, and the public is invited.

Race Unity Day, from 8 a.m. to noon outside the center, will include African drumming and a Jamaican steel band as well as European, Haitian, Hispanic and American Indian entertainment. A "fun walk" around the center is set for 8 a.m. and the entertainment at 9 a.m. There also will be rides for children and other activities.

"We're hoping it will be a catalyst for fostering fellowship," said Parisa Payman, a Miramar dentist and one of the event's organizers. "We hope the spirit of friendship will continue throughout the year."

The various South Florida festivals that promote particular cultures are "wonderful, but we thought there was a need to get them together," she said. "There is a lot of diversity here in Miramar and we want to have an event where people can come and get to know one another and see an essential oneness that we all share."

But it's intended with respect for all cultures, she added. "Unity does not mean sameness," she said.

Payman's husband, Cyrus Jiveh, asked the city of Miramar to help sponsor the event along with his company, Delta Business Solutions, which provides office equipment and services. Jiveh said he would like the event to become an annual affair.

"We all belong to one human family and race," he said.

Jiveh also invited all Miramar students to enter an art and essay contest. The students were told to pick from one of three topics: "Happiness lies in unity and harmony;" "The Earth is one country and mankind its citizens;" or "So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the Earth." Their work will be displayed at the festival.

In addition, the first Senior May Fair will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. inside the building, as part of Older Americans Month.

Miramar's Social Services Department is advertising the event to those whom it doesn't ordinarily reach, such as caregivers, people approaching retirement, or seniors who don't usually participate in activities at the two senior centers.

The fair will have seminars and exhibits, including discussions of legal issues, guardianship, Medicare, Medicaid and HMOs.

It's a chance to prepare, said Geri Freedman, the city's social services director. "It's important for people that are younger, such as pre-retirees, and for people in their 40s and 50s who are taking care of both their kids and their parents," Freedman said. "Their parents may be healthy now, but as they age, they'll need to know what resources are out there.

"It's important to think of those issues now, so there's not a crisis when something happens," she said.

The Social Services Department sent informational fliers to area businesses, because having prepared employees would be in their best interest, Freedman said. For example, employees taking care of their parents often may miss work because of an emergency involving an ill parent at home.

(source) Sun Sentinel (Nick Sortal) 5-21-04